Ask the Slot Expert: Video poker progressives

Question: Always choose progressives when playing video poker. Crazy how most people don’t know this.

Answer: Well, okay. All things being equal, you might as well play the progressive.

The problem is that rarely are all things equal.

As I wrote the past few weeks, fantastic free play offers from a casino led to my recent dalliance with 25-cent Triple Play Illinois Deuces with a royal progressive on each hand individually and a separate progressive for a royal on all three.

I considered three options for using the free play: NSU, some other video poker, and slots. I ruled out NSU right off the bat because I figured that if I used the free play on it exclusively -- especially on a point multiplier day -- the offers would dry up.

I played a slot and a video poker machine the first few times I used a free play offer. The casino has a five-cent five-play with royal progressives so I used some of the free play on that. I don't remember which deuces paytable it had. It might have been pretty bad. I didn't care much because I wasn't going to play many hands on it. Luck was going to have a much greater effect on my results than the paytable.

When I went back to play the machines on another day, I couldn't find them. (Don't you hate it when you can't find a machine you played just a few days before?) Wandering around the casino, I found the Triple Play progressives on which I ended up using all of my remaining free play offers.

The second time I went to play the Triple Play, I couldn't find the bank. I did find the nickel five-play machines, though. (Don't you hate it even more when the casino didn't move the machine you couldn't find and you just misremembered where it was?)

This time I wasn't going to take no for an answer. I eventually remembered a landmark near the Triple Play bank, so I was able to found them again -- and will never lose them again, unless the casino moves or removes them.

I had considered using my free play on a dollar, single-hand Illinois Deuces machine. I settled on the Triple Play for a few reasons. Triple Play can be more fun than playing single hand. I would be risking less ($3.75 versus $5) per hand, in addition, so my free play would last longer. Finally, if I should happen to get one or more royals, I would get paid a little bonus over 800 per coin played.

In my case, all things were equal -- the paytable was the same -- so it made sense to me to try for a little extra with the progressives on the royal. Had the paytable on the Triple Play been worse than Illinois Deuces, I probably would have played the single-hand machine.

Long-term payback didn't matter much because I wasn't going to play anywhere near enough hands to for it to overcome luck. I probably wasn't going to get a royal, moreover. A few extra coins here and there on the lower-paying hands, though, would keep me playing longer. That's why I would have played the flat-top single-hand machine.

I wouldn't play a lousy paytable with a progressive over a better paytable without one. Even if the progressive is really high, even if it's high enough to turn the paytable positive, keep in mind that only one player wins the jackpot.

My relationship with the Triple Play bank may be over. It looks like I've been dumped by the casino.

My free play offers went from spectacular to nil. I'm not exaggerating. I have no free play offers at all for this month.

It was fun while it lasted.

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